Changi Lorong 108 Fei Lao Seafood at Bedok North

I have heard so much of this Horfun and so, made an effort to travel all the way to the east for lunch. The coffee shop was quite quiet when I was there. I heard they were really famous at one time when Fei Lao was still around at Changi Lorong 108. They were famous for their charcoal fried horfun at that time. They stopped using charcoal after moving to the current location as restricted by the National Environmental Agency (NEA). Fei Lao has since passed away bringing along his 40 years of wok skills. The stall is taken over by his nephew.

It was good though wok hei was not as distinctive as I expected it to be. This might be the only horfun that is serving with pork liver. It used to be a common ingredient for horfun but most have stopped doing so. Overall, it was tasty and memorable, this is definitely one of the special ones but though I still prefer the eggy horfun by Hoy Yong Seafood Restaurant at Clementi a little more. Nonetheless, the search for a good horfun is still on.

I also ordered the Fried Rice to share which I actually enjoyed but my dining companion did not think much of it. I think they have done it well, nicely seasoned with a slight smokiness, this is a much better Fried Rice as compared to most. 

I wanted to order Prawn Paste Chicken but I was told that they only serve the normal fried chicken mid-wings. My dining companion said, "I won't actually pay for normal chicken wings at cze cha stall." It does make sense.

I am likely to drop by again if I happen to be in the vicinity.

CHANGI LORONG 108 FEI LAO SEAFOOD

Block 86 Bedok North Street 4 #01-165 SINGAPORE 460086

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 2.00 pm / 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Closed on Tuesdays)

Tony Cafe : fried chicken wings are just so so

My dining companion sent me a picture of the fried chicken wings rice from Tony Cafe just other day accompanied by texts stating, "I still prefer those from Victor's Chicken and the rice was mushy" and "You are not missing out".  Tony Cafe has been around since 2002, hidden at the quiet corner of The Adelphi at level 2. Shirley, the owner, took over the cafe about 19 years ago. She used to be working in the same building and got the news that the owner was letting go of the cafe and she decided to take over. 

The chicken wings are only available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, it is based on the same recipe as the now-defunct Corona Chicken. They serve meatball on Tuesdays and Hainanese pork chop on Thursdays. I did not see the chicken wings when I was there at 10.40 am so I asked, "Do you have chicken wings today?" The lady replied, "Yes." I added, "I am here especially for your chicken wings." There was no reply nor a smile so I did not take the conversation further. 

I decided to go with chicken rice though plain rice is available too and I added a fried egg with a portion of stir-fried brinjal for $4.80. The chicken wings were coated in a layer of light batter and beautifully fried to a golden brown. When tasted, though crispy but it was quite oily and also, it did not have much flavor. In my humble opinion, it is not as good as Victor Famous Chicken Wing and Hainanese Chicken Rice in a coffee shop at Veerasamy Road. I was expecting the standard of those chicken wings to be better thus feeling disappointed. Martin, a friend on Facebook went to Tony Cafe for their chicken wings just last week. He commented that it was very good, crispy and flavorful. He felt that it was slightly better than Victor's. The rice was not mushy as mentioned by my dining companion, the flavor was light and not greasy.

The queue started to form after 11.00 am and getting longer when I was leaving. 

TONY CAFE

1 Coleman Street #02-23 The Adelphi SINGAPORE 1798903

Operating Hours: 8.00 am to 8.00 pm (Mon to Fri) / 8.00 am to 5.00 pm (Sat) (Closed on Sundays)

Carona Chicken : The Past & The Present

These are the 2 stalls using the original recipe behind the now-defunct Carona Chicken. Victor, the owner, started Victor's Famous Fried Chicken Rice & Hainanese Chicken Rice and the nephew of the creator of that particular recipe started Two Wings.

Now, give both a try then decide for yourself which is the better wing.

Read my article on MAKANSUTRA.

VICTOR FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN RICE & 

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

638 Veerasamy Road #01-101 SINGAPORE 200638

Operating Hours: 8.30 am to 8:00 pm (Daily)

TWO WINGS

119 Bukit Merah Lane 1 SINGAPORE 151119

Operating Hours: 12 pm to 3 pm / 6 pm to 10 pm (Closed on Monday)

Eng Kee Fried Chicken Wings

This stall, at the corner coffee shop, is also famous for its fried chicken wings. There is often a queue during lunch or dinner, almost everyone in the queue will goes for their fried chicken wings. Other than fried chicken wings, some of their popular side dishes are stir-fried sambal long bean, braised cabbage as well as fried items like tau kwa, fishcake, fried egg and also otak for selection. 

I was there slightly after lunch and no queue at that time. The service was pretty prompt when i placed my order for fried bee hoon, fried yellow noodle with tau kwa and 4 pieces of fried chicken wings.

The fried chicken wings were perfectly deep fried over a high fire to give the desired crispiness and not overly greasy. The seasoning was a bit too light though. If i am going to compare this to the other famous fried chicken wings at Redhill Food Centre, these fried chicken wings are definitely a better choice, at least there was not a burnt taste detected. 

The taste of bee hoon was simple but they done it well to give it the delightful texture.

The fried yellow noodle tasted flavorful with just the right texture too. I would actually prefer this to the fried bee hoon though both were equally good.

ENG KEE FRIED CHICKEN WINGS

117 Commonwealth Drive #01-711 SINGAPORE 140117

Operating Hours: 12 pm to 10.30 pm (Closed on Saturday)

Yan Fried Bee Hoon / Chicken Wings : Why did PM bother to queue?

It was slightly after 4 pm when i was there. There was already a short queue of about 4 people right in front of this stall and almost everyone ordered the signature fried chicken wings from this stall. I guess their chicken wings must be so good to even get the Prime Minister (PM) to queue for it. I was told if come during dinner, the waiting time could be as long as 30 minutes or even longer. 

I waited for a short 10 minutes before i got to order, some of their side dishes were not ready then still the choices were rather limited. I ordered a packet of bee hoon with fishcake to take away and requested for chilli to go along but it was overlooked, no chilli is added. I have also ordered for a plate of fried bee hoon and 4 pieces of chicken wings to be eaten there. 

Even before i tasted it, the dark color of fried chicken wings did not seem to be quite appealing. It looked slightly overcooked though the skin still retained its crispiness and not greasy. My first bite has confirmed my suspicious, the chicken wings tasted slightly burnt and a bit too dry. Though crispy but it did not have much taste within. I guess they must have deep fried those chicken wings over a rather high fire to achieve that crispiness but compromised its texture within. They did not season it long enough to allow the marinade to seep through it thus it tasted rather bland. 

A friend that tasted the fried chicken wings by my late Grandpa commented that those chicken wings were tastier as compared to these. I tasted it when the stall was still at the old Commonwealth Food Centre and it was quite good then. Now, there is a significant drop in comparison. I do not know whether is this an one time off or it is their usual standard. I seriously do not understand why did the PM even bothered to queue for such a standard fried chicken wings. There are definitely many more better fried chicken wings out there, like some of those found at the lesser known economic fried bee hoon stalls that without a queue. So, why even bother to queue?

Their fried bee hoon has left quite an impression though, a simple dish but they done it pretty well. It was lightly seasoned with soya sauce but stir-fried well to give it just the right texture and flavor. It tasted good even after it was left for a while.

YAN FRIED BEE HOON / CHICKEN WINGS

Block 85 Redhill Lane #01-19 Redhill Food Centre SINGAPORE 150085

Operating Hours: 4 pm to 10 pm (Closed on Monday)